Method for operating a cellular telecommunications network, and method for operating a personal cellular telecommunications device

ABSTRACT

For use in a cellular telecommunications network including a plurality of individually addressable Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) providing bidirectional signal coverage over a predefined geographical area, capable of transmitting Point-To-MultiPoint (PTMP) messages over a Point-To-MultiPoint Service (PTMPS) functionality, and capable of transmitting Point-To-Point (PTP) messages, streaming of a substantially continuous stream of mostly different content, at least some interactive display messages on at least one personal cellular telecommunications device prior to their automatic discarding irrespective of their having been displayed or not.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to the operation of cellulartelecommunications networks, and personal cellular telecommunicationsdevices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Global Networks for Mobile Communications (GSM) digital cellulartelecommunications networks have now been deployed alongside wirelinetelecommunications networks in over a 100 countries. GSM supports aso-called Short Message Service (SMS) functionality in two flavors:point-to-point for sending a point-to-point message (SMS/PP) from anetwork operator to a single personal cellular telecommunicationsdevice, and point-to-multipoint for sending a Cell Broadcast (SMS/CB)message from a network operator to a plurality of personal cellulartelecommunications devices located in one or more cells. For moredetails regarding the different classes of SMS messages, reference canbe made to ETSI TS 100 900 Version 7.2 (GSM 03.38 Version 7.2), thecontents of which are incorporated by reference.

[0003] In WO98/10604 entitled “Interactive Cell Broadcast Service”,there is illustrated and described a method and apparatus fortransmitting SMS/CB display messages to subscribers who are prompted torespond by depressing a pushbutton for immediately originating either atelephone call or an SMS/PP message to an embedded callback number. Oneparticular application of the interactive cell broadcast service is forrequesting a service which can then be provided by so-called over theair programming. Each SMS/CB message is displayed on the entire displayscreen either immediately upon its receipt, or when requested by theuser (see page 11, lines 27-29 of the specification). Both approachesseverely limit the interactive cell broadcast service in terms of therate at which SMS/CB messages can be transmitted as follows. In theformer, immediately displaying SMS/CB messages on a display screenannoyingly interrupts the operation of the device from the point of viewof the subscriber who would therefore be inclined to disable theservice. And in the latter, storing SMS/CB messages requiresconsiderable memory resources, and requiring a user to retrieve eachSMS/CB message individually (and thereafter delete them individually) istime consuming and battery wasteful.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Broadly speaking, the present invention is directed toward thestreaming of mostly different content at least some interactive displaymessages on personal cellular telecommunications devices for the benefitof subscribers for no more than their occasional glancing at theirpersonal cellular telecommunications devices' display screens which theyoften do anyway, for example, to check the time. The present inventioncan display both Point-To-Point (PTP) display messages andPoint-To-MultiPoint (PTMP) display messages but in the case that PTPdisplay messages and PTMP display messages are simultaneouslytransmitted over their respective air interface channels, the formerdisplay messages typically have a higher display priority than thelatter such that they are preferentially displayed.

[0005] The display messages are intended to have mostly differentcontent including inter alia news items, financial information,promotional offers, and the like, in the form of alphanumeric messages,graphic messages, video clips, and the like. Whilst some displaymessages will by their nature be repeated on a regular basis, forexample, display messages advertising a soft drink, the term mostlydifferent is intended to convey that identical display messages are notdisplay during consecutive time intervals of, say, between 1 minute and5 minutes. At least some of the display messages are intended to beinteractive in the sense that a subscriber can automatically activate apoint-to-point transmission response mechanism from a dedicated responsemeans integrally provided in a display message. The existence of adedicated response means does not necessarily have to be indicated on adisplay message to a subscriber but can be understood by him as beingavailable a matter of course. A response mechanism can be pushbuttonactivated, voice activated, or touchpad activated. In the case ofpushbutton activated response means, each response means may be adedicated “MORE INFO” key, or a key selectively dedicated for theresponse means but otherwise a conventional key, for example, the key“*” as may appear in a display message, for example, “PRESS * FOR MOREINFO”. The display messages are preferably transmitted at a maximum rateof a new display message about every 5 seconds on a so-called 24/7 basisi.e. all day every day, thereby, on the one hand, rendering aninteresting eye catching service of streaming display messages but, onthe other hand, still providing sufficient response time for asubscriber to activate a response mechanism. Obviously, display messagescan be transmitted at slower rates, say, down to one display messageabout every 2 minutes, or even slower, say, one display message aboutevery 5 minutes, and for shorter periods, say, 10 minutes of displaymessages on the hour during peak broadcasting hours only.

[0006] The display messages can occupy different regions of a displayscreen as follows: First, they can replace a so-called “idle screen”typically occupying the entire space of a display screen for displayinginter alia network related information, for example, the name of anoperator, time, signal strength, batter; strength, the presence of oneor more voice messages and/or SMS messages stored in a permanent storagebuffer prior to their deletion, and the like. And second, they canoccupy a portion of a split screen, for example, a horizontally disposedbanner portion, also typically having a major portion for normallydisplaying an idle screen. In the latter instance, the banner portionmay be a permanent feature of a display screen or it may be replacedtogether with the first portion in a similar manner to the firstinstance on the invoking of a non-idle activity specific screen havingat least some indication of an ongoing activist including inter alia theentire process from establishment to tear down of a voice callirrespective of whether a subscriber is the originating party or thereceiving party, and any other subscriber initiated activity, forexample, retrieving an item stored in memory, playing a game, writing amemo, and the like. An exemplary “idle screen” within the spirit of thepresent invention is displayed in the so-called User Idle ScreenAvailable Event (see 3GPP TS 31.111 V4.0.0 3rd Generation PartnershipProject; Technical Specification Group Terminals; USIM ApplicationToolkit (USAT) (Release 4)).

[0007] The envisaged streaming of display messages provides a mostconvenient platform for m-commerce applications, and in particularinteractive m-commerce applications catering for a wide range of ages,lifestyles, and the like. It is believed that its exposure to thegeneral public will be far greater than that of conventional radio,television and cable broadcasting services taking into consideration theubiquity of personal cellular telecommunications devices, the fact thatmost subscribers now take their personal cellular telecommunicationsdevices wherever they go, and the fact that they are in idle mode formost of the time that they are powered on. Moreover, unlike conventionalbroadcasting services which are at best regional services, since eachBTS can be individually addressed, the present invention readilyfacilitates the transmitting of far more location specific content downto the granularity of a single BTS than hitherto achievable. In thisconnection, additional BTSs can also be readily deployed for the solepurpose of transmitting specific content at particular locations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] In order to understand the invention and to see how it can becarried out in practice, a preferred embodiment will now be described,by way of a non-limiting example only, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which similar parts are likewise numbered, andin which:

[0009]FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a cellulartelecommunications network for transmitting a multi-programming channel24/7 cellular broadcasting service for the streaming of display messageson personal cellular telecommunications device in a screen saver-likemanner;

[0010]FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a voice activated displaymessage for enabling subscriber activation of one of at least twopoint-to-point transmission response mechanisms;

[0011]FIG. 3 is a schematic representation showing the programs to bebroadcast during the first hour of each of three programming channels ofthe cellular broadcasting service;

[0012]FIG. 4 is a schematic representation showing a staggered sequenceof display messages for advertising tickets for a football game overprogressively smaller geographical areas at progressively lower purchaseprices;

[0013]FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a personal cellulartelecommunications device for supporting the streaming of displaymessages thereon in a screen saver-like manner;

[0014]FIG. 6 is a flow diagram for streaming display messages on apersonal cellular telecommunications device in a screen saver-likemanner; and

[0015] FIGS. 7A-7D are schematic representations of different modes ofoperation of a personal cellular telecommunications device having asplit screen display screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016]FIG. 1 shows a cellular telecommunications network 1 capable oftransmitting a multi-programming channel 24/7 cellular broadcastingservice to a plurality of individually addressable BTSs 2 each providingbidirectional signal coverage over a predefined geographical arearanging from so-called typically indoor pico cells each covering a fewsquare meters through so-called micro cells each covering anywhere froma few tens to a few hundreds of square meters upto cells coveringseveral square kilometers. The BTSs 2 are each capable of transmittingPoint-To-MultiPoint (PTMP) display messages and Point-To-Point (PTP)display messages for streaming mostly different content, mostlyinteractive display messages on personal cellular telecommunicationsdevices 3. The PTMP display messages are dispatched from aPoint-To-MultiPoint Display Message Dispatcher 4 and the PTP displaymessages are dispatched from a Point-To-Point Display Message Dispatcher6. Both the PTMP display messages and the PTP display messages originateat a Display Message Input Entity 7. The devices 3 include inter aliasimple handset phones, smartphones, combined PDA/phones, combined MIP3music players/phones, and the like.

[0017]FIG. 1 also shows two exemplary successive time-sensitive displaymessages displayed in a screen saver-like manner replacing a normallydisplayed idle screen. The display messages include “NASDAQ DROPS 10%PRESS SND FOR DETAILS” display at 9:00 and “NASDAQ JUMPS 20%” displayedat 9:01. The 9:00 display message is an example of a display messageprompting a subscriber as to the action required by him to obtainadditional information from an information provider. Against this, the9:01 display message is an example of a display message which does notprompt a subscriber as to which action is needs to take to obtainadditional information since he is already cognizant of the fact thatpressing the SND key will automatically connect him to a suitableinformation service. FIG. 2 shows a display message prompting asubscriber to activate a point-to-point transmission response mechanismfrom the list of: a voice call; an SMS; a data session, for example, anInternet browsing session, a SIM browsing session, and the like; e-mail;and a facsimile transmission.

[0018]FIG. 3 shows that a cellular broadcasting service can include anon-geocoded or nationwide programming channel, and one or more geocodedprogramming channels for transmitting streams of PTMP and PTP displaymessages from logical groups of BTSs each including one or more BTSs.Each logical group of BTSs either covers an extended contiguousgeographical area, for example, a metropolitan area or geographicalareas sharing a common theme, for example, schools, along highways, andthe like. The programming channels typically include time slots fortransmitting programs which are either common to both the nationwideprogramming channel and the geocoded programming channels, for example,the News, or dedicated to a particular logical group of BTSs, forexample, an Anti-drug program for transmission at BTSs of the logicalgroup of BTSs which cover schools, Traffic updates for transmission atBTSs of the logical group of BTSs which cover major highways, and thelike. Also, a geocoded programming channel can be itself segmented totwo or more so-called geocoded programming sub-channels each to betransmitted at a subset of the BTSs of the logical group of BTSsassociated with the geocoded programming channel. For example, theschool programming channel can be segmented to an elementary schoolprogramming sub-channel, a high school programming sub-channel, and acollege programming sub-channel.

[0019] It should be noted that a BTS may be assigned to one or moregeocoded programming channels depending on its location, for example, aBTS which covers a geographical area containing both a football stadiumand a shopping mall in most likelihood will be assigned to both a sportsprogramming channel and a shopping programming channel of the cellularbroadcasting service to maximize its efficacy in terms of geocodedcontent. In such instance, a programming channel allocation scheme 8 canbe provided for determining which stream of PTMP or PTP display messagesshould be displayed at each BTS. The schemes can be time dependent, forexample, sports programming channel be transmitted during a timeinterval starting 2 hours before the start of a football match andending 2 hours after the football match ends, the shopping programmingchannel be transmitted at other times when available for transmission,and the nationwide programming channel be transmitted at all other timesthat neither the sports programming channel nor the shopping programmingchannel are available for transmission.

[0020]FIG. 4 shows a staggered sequence of display messages foradvertising tickets for a football game to take place at a stadium overprogressively smaller geographical areas and at progressively lowerprices on the same day as the game assuming that unsold tickets stillavailable. Such display messages may be either PTMP display messages, orPTP display messages transmitted to subscribers listed in the fan clubof the stadium's home team. The geographical areas are usually centeredaround the stadium, and are such that a subscriber can still reach thestadium in time for kick-off. Such an advertising campaign can bereadily applied to other items with either a fixed “sellby” date or alimited stock, for example, for advertising a clearance sale of consumeritems at a retail outlet.

[0021]FIG. 5 shows a GSM based personal cellular telecommunicationsdevice 3 including an antenna 11, a transceiver 12, a controller 13providing a clock time denoted T_(CLOCK), a SIM card 14 (constituting asmart card), a subscriber interface 16, and a loudspeaker 17. Thesubscriber interface 16 includes a display screen 18, a keypad 19, and amicrophone 21. The display screen 18 may be a touchpad. The device 3 mayalso include a voice recognition capability 22 for supporting voiceactivated activities including inter alia dialing, invoking a responsemechanism, and the like. The SIM card 14 includes two fixed size dynamicstorage buffers 23 and 24 for temporarily storing PTMP display messagesand PTP display messages, respectively, passed thereto by the controller13 prior to their being automatically discarded in accordance with adisplay message discard scheme irrespective of their having beendisplayed or not. The entire handling of a display message from itsreceipt through to its being automatically discarded is a completelysilent process irrespective of whether the display message is displayedor not.

[0022] The operation of the screen saver-like application in respect ofeach of the dynamic storage buffers 23 and 24 is as follows: The displaymessage discard scheme automatically discards undisplayed displaymessages from a dynamic storage buffer on a First In First Out basis,thereby ensuring that the dynamic storage buffer only stores the mostrecently received display messages, and automatically discards displaymessages after they are displayed. In addition, assuming that thedisplay screen is available for display of a display message,immediately before a display message is actually displayed, thefollowing checks are made: First, since display messages may beincomplete due to any one of several occurrences, for example, airinterface interference, hand over between cells, and the like, eachdisplay message is checked for completeness and if it is found to beincomplete, it is automatically discarded. Second, since at least someof the display messages are time sensitive, each display message ischecked for its not being out-of-date by its satisfying the followingcondition: T_(CLOCK)−T_(RECEIPT)<T_(DISCARD) where T_(CLOCK) is theclock time, T_(RECEIVE) is its time of receipt, and T_(DISCARD) is apredetermined time interval, for example, three minutes, which isnecessary.

[0023] FIGS. 7A-7D show different modes of streaming of display messageson a personal cellular telecommunications device having a split screendisplay screen 26 including a major portion 27, and a minor horizontalbanner portion 28. FIG. 7A shows that the major portion 27 displays anidle screen whilst the banner portion 28 shows a stream of at least someinteractive display messages whilst FIG. 7B shows that the displaymessages are only displayed on the banner portion 28 when the idlescreen is displayed on the major portion 27. FIG. 7C shows that thebanner portion 28 is a permanent feature of the split screen displayscreen 26 either occupying only a portion thereof, or that it can beextended to include the entire display screen 26 instead of the majorportion 27 displaying an idle screen (see FIG. 7D).

[0024] While the invention has been described with respect to a limitednumber of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations,modifications, and other applications of the invention can be madewithin the scope of the appended claims. For example, whilst the presentinvention has been described in parts with reference to its GSMimplementation, it is suitable for implementation by both existing orstill evolving technologies including inter alia PCS, GPRS, 3G, CDMA,UMTS, W-CDMA, and the like, and/or both existing and still evolvingservices including inter alia PTM-M, PTM-G, IP-M, MDS, and the like.

1. For use in a cellular telecommunications network including aplurality of individually addressable Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs)providing bidirectional signal coverage over a predefined geographicalarea, capable of transmitting Point-To-MultiPoint (PTMP) messages over aPoint-To-MultiPoint Service (PTMPS) functionality and capable oftransmitting Point-To-Point (PTP) messages, a method for operating thecellular telecommunications network comprising the step of transmittinga cellular broadcasting service consisting of a substantially continuousstream of mostly different content, at least some interactive displaymessages for streaming display on at least one enabled personal cellulartelecommunications devices where each interactive display messageenables a subscriber to automatically activate a point-to-pointtransmission response mechanism integrally provided in a display messageand actuable by a dedicated response means associated therewith.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1 wherein the step of transmitting streamsdisplay messages at the rate of between one display message about everyS seconds to one display message about every 5 minutes.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 2 wherein the step of transmitting streams displaymessages at the rate of between one display message about every 5seconds to one display message about every 2 minutes.
 4. The methodaccording to any one of claim s 1 to 3 wherein the step of transmittingincludes transmitting a staggered sequence of display messagesadvertising an item in progressively smaller geographical areas centeredaround a predefined location.
 5. The method according to claim 4 whereinthe staggered sequence of display messages advertise progressively lowerpurchase prices for the item in accordance with a pricing scheme.
 6. Themethod according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein a display messageenables a subscriber to automatically activate one of at least twopoint-to-point transmission response mechanisms from the list of: avoice call; an SMS; a data session; e-mail; and a facsimile transmissionwhere each response mechanism is integrally provided in a displaymessage and actuable by a dedicated response means associated therewith.7. The method according to claim 6 wherein the at least two responsemechanisms are displayed on a personal cellular telecommunicationsdevice in response to subscriber activation of a dedicated responsemeans integrally provided in a display message.
 8. The method accordingto any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the step of transmitting includessimultaneously transmitting at least two streams of different contentdisplay messages, and further comprising the step of providing aprogramming channel allocation scheme for determining the stream ofdisplay messages to be transmitted at each BTS.
 9. The method accordingto any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the cellular broadcasting serviceconsists of a substantially continuous stream of PTMP display messagesfor streaming display on a particular personal cellulartelecommunications device.
 10. The method according to any one of claims1 to 8 wherein the cellular broadcasting service consists of asubstantially continuous stream of PTP display messages for streamingdisplay on a plurality of personal cellular telecommunications devices.11. A cellular telecommunications network operative in accordance withany one of claims 1 to
 10. 12. The cellular telecommunications networkaccording to claim 11 wherein the cellular telecommunications network isa GSM network and the display messages are of the SMS Class 2 type. 13.A computer program loadable into a cellular telecommunications networkso that the cellular telecommunications network programmed in this wayis capable of or adapted to carrying out a method in accordance with anyone of claims 1 to
 10. 14. A program storage device readable by acellular telecommunications network tangibly embodying a program ofinstructions executable by the cellular telecommunications network forcarrying out a method in accordance with any one of claims 1 to
 10. 15.For use in a cellular telecommunications network including a pluralityof individually addressable Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) providingbidirectional signal coverage over a predefined geographical area, andcapable of transmitting mostly different content, at least someinteractive display messages where each interactive display messageenables a subscriber to automatically activate a point-to-pointtransmission response mechanism integrally provided in a display messageby a dedicated response means associated therewith, a method foroperating a personal cellular telecommunications device having at leastone dynamic storage buffer, and a subscriber interface including adisplay screen, the method comprising the steps of: (a) temporarilystoring display messages in a dynamic storage buffer ready for displayon the display screen; (b) instead of displaying an idle screen on thedisplay screen, automatically streaming display messages from thedynamic storage buffer on the display screen but interrupting theirdisplay to display a non-idle activity specific screen, if invoked; and(c) automatically discarding display messages from the dynamic storagebuffer in accordance with a display message discard scheme irrespectiveof their having been displayed on the display screen or not.
 16. Themethod according to claim 15 wherein the display message discard schemeautomatically discards undisplayed display messages from the dynamicstorage buffer on a First In First Out basis.
 17. The method accordingto either claim 15 or 16 wherein the display message discard schemeautomatically discards a display message immediately prior to itsdisplay if it is incomplete.
 18. The method according to any one ofclaims 15 to 17 wherein the display message discard scheme automaticallydiscards an out-of-date display message prior to its display if itsatisfies the condition that T_(CLOCK)−T_(RECEIVE)<T_(DISCARD) whereT_(CLOCK) is the clock time of the personal cellular telecommunicationsdevice, T_(RECEIVE) is the time of receipt of the display message at thepersonal cellular telecommunications device, and T_(DISCARD) is apredetermined time interval.
 19. The method according to any one ofclaims 15 to 18 wherein the display message discard scheme automaticallydiscards displayed display messages from the dynamic storage buffer. 20.The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19 wherein a PTP displaymessage ready for display is displayed on the display screen inpreference to a PTMP display message ready for display.
 21. The methodaccording to any one of claims 15 to 20 wherein the entire handling of adisplay message from its receipt through to its being automaticallydiscarded is a completely silent process irrespective of whether thedisplay message was displayed on the display screen or not.
 22. Themethod according to any one of claims 15 to 21 wherein a display messageenables a subscriber to automatically activate one of at least twopoint-to-point transmission response mechanisms from the list of: avoice call; an SMS; a data session; e-mail; and a facsimiletransmission, each response mechanism integrally provided in a displaymessage and actuable by a dedicated response means associated therewith.23. The method according to claim 22 wherein the at least twopoint-to-point transmission response mechanisms are displayed inresponse to subscriber activation of a dedicated response meansintegrally provided in a display message.
 24. A computer programloadable into a personal cellular telecommunications device so that thepersonal cellular telecommunications device programmed in this way iscapable of or adapted to carrying out a method in accordance with anyone of claims 15 to
 23. 25. A program storage device readable by apersonable cellular telecommunications device tangibly embodying aprogram of instructions executable by the personal cellulartelecommunications device for carrying out a method in accordance withany one of claims 15 to
 23. 26. A smart card operable with a personalcellular telecommunications device so that the personal cellulartelecommunications device is capable of or adapted to carrying out amethod in accordance with any one of claims 15 to
 23. 27. For use in acellular telecommunications network including a plurality ofindividually addressable Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) providingbidirectional signal coverage over a predefined geographical area, andeach capable of transmitting mostly different content, at least someinteractive display messages where each interactive display messageenables a subscriber to automatically activate a response mechanismintegrally provided in a display message and actuable by a dedicatedresponse means associated therewith, a method for operating a personalcellular telecommunications device having at least one dynamic storagebuffer, and a subscriber interface including a split screen displayscreen including a first portion and a second portion, the methodcomprising the steps of: (a) temporarily storing display messages in adynamic storage buffer ready for display on the second portion of thedisplay screen; (b) normally displaying an idle screen on the firstportion of the display screen; and automatically streaming displaymessages from the dynamic storage buffer on the second portion of thedisplay screen; (c) provisioning on the subscriber interface a dedicatedresponse means selectively actuable by the subscriber for actuating aresponse mechanism integrally formed with a display message; (d)displaying a non-idle activity specific screen on at least the firstportion of the display screen, if invoked; and (e) automaticallydiscarding display messages from the dynamic storage buffer inaccordance with a display message discard scheme irrespective of theirhaving been displayed on the display screen or not.
 28. The methodaccording to claim 27 wherein the display message discard schemeautomatically discards undisplayed display messages from the dynamicstorage buffer on a First In First Out basis.
 29. The method accordingto either claim 27 or 28 wherein the display message discard schemeautomatically discards a display message immediately prior to itsdisplay if it is incomplete.
 30. The method according to any one ofclaims 27 to 29 wherein the display message discard scheme automaticallydiscards an out-of-date display message prior to its display if itsatisfies the condition that T_(CLOCK)−T_(RECEIVE)<T_(DISCARD) whereT_(CLOCK) is the clock time of the personal cellular telecommunicationsdevice, T_(RECEIVE) is the time of receipt of the display message at thepersonal cellular telecommunications device, and T_(DISCARD) is apredetermined time interval.
 31. The method according to any one ofclaims 27 to 30 wherein the display message discard scheme automaticallydiscards displayed display messages from the dynamic storage buffer. 32.The method according to any one of claims 27 to 31 wherein a PTP displaymessage ready for display is displayed on the display screen inpreference to a PTMP display message ready for display.
 33. The methodaccording to any one of claims 27 to 32 wherein the entire handling of adisplay message from its receipt through to its being automaticallydiscarded is a completely silent process irrespective of whether thedisplay message was displayed on the display screen or not.
 34. Themethod according to any one of claims 27 to 33 wherein a display messageenables a subscriber to automatically activate one of at least twopoint-to-point transmission response mechanisms from the list of: avoice call; an SMS; a data session; e-mail; and a facsimiletransmission, each response mechanism integrally provided in a displaymessage and actuable by a dedicated response means associated therewith.35. The method according to claim 34 wherein the at least twopoint-to-point transmission response mechanisms are displayed inresponse to subscriber activation of a dedicated response meansintegrally provided in a display message.
 36. A computer programloadable into a personal cellular telecommunications device so that thepersonal cellular telecommunications device programmed in this way iscapable of or adapted to carrying out a method in accordance with anyone of claims 27 to
 35. 37. A program storage device readable by apersonable cellular telecommunications device tangibly embodying aprogram of instructions executable by the personal cellulartelecommunications device for carrying out a method in accordance withany one of claims 27 to
 35. 38. A smart card operable with a personalcellular telecommunications device so that the personal cellulartelecommunications device is capable of or adapted to carrying out amethod in accordance with any one of claims 27 to
 35. 39. For use in acellular telecommunications network including a plurality ofindividually addressable Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) providingbidirectional signal coverage over a predefined geographical area, andcapable of transmitting mostly different content, at least someinteractive display messages where each interactive display messageenables a subscriber to automatically activate a response mechanismintegrally provided in a display message and actuable by a dedicatedresponse means, a method for operating a personal cellulartelecommunications device having at least one dynamic storage buffer,and a subscriber interface including a split screen display screenincluding at least two portions, the method comprising the steps of: (a)temporarily storing display messages in a dynamic storage buffer readyfor display on the second portion of the display screen; (b) permanentlystreaming display messages from the dynamic storage buffer on at leastone portion of the display screen; and (c) automatically discardingdisplay messages from the dynamic storage buffer in accordance with adisplay message discard scheme irrespective of their having beendisplayed on the display screen or not.
 40. The method according toclaim 39 wherein the display messages are only displayed on one portionof the display screen.
 41. The method according to claim 39 wherein thedisplay messages are either displayed on one portion of the displayscreen or the entire display screen.
 42. The method according to any oneof claims 39 to 41 wherein a PTP display message ready for display isdisplayed on the display screen in preference to a PTMP display messageready for display.
 43. The method according to any one of claims 39 to42 wherein a display message enables a subscriber to automaticallyactivate one point-to-point transmission response mechanism from thelist of: a voice call; an SMS; a data session; e-mail; and a facsimiletransmission, each response mechanism integrally provided in a displaymessage and is actuated by a dedicated response means.
 44. The methodaccording to claim 43 wherein at least two point-to-point transmissionresponse mechanisms are displayed in response to subscriber activationof a dedicated response means integrally provided in a display message.45. A computer program loadable into a personal cellulartelecommunications device so that the personal cellulartelecommunications device programmed in this way is capable of oradapted to carrying out a method in accordance with any one of claims 39to
 44. 46. A program storage device readable by a personable cellulartelecommunications device tangibly embodying a program of instructionsexecutable by the personal cellular telecommunications device forcarrying out a method in accordance with any one of claims 39 to
 44. 47.A smart card operable with a personal cellular telecommunications deviceso that the personal cellular telecommunications device is capable of oradapted to carrying out a method in accordance with any one of claims 39to
 44. 48. For use in a cellular telecommunications network including aplurality of Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) including a plurality ofindividually addressable Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) providingbidirectional signal coverage over a predefined geographical area, adisplay message for display on the display screen of a personal cellulartelecommunications device, the display message comprising at least twointegrally formed point-to-point transmission response mechanisms fromthe list of: a voice call; an SMS; a data session; email; and afacsimile transmission, and each having a dedicated response meansassociated therewith whereby a subscriber is capable of automaticallyactivating one of the at least two point-to-point transmission responsemechanisms.
 49. The display message according to claim 48 wherein the atleast two point-to-point transmission response mechanisms are displayedon the display screen in response to subscriber activation of adedicated response means integrally provided in the display message. 50.The display message according to either claim 48 or 49 wherein thedisplay message is a PTMP display message.
 51. The display messageaccording to either claim 48 or 49 wherein the display message is a PTPdisplay message.
 52. For use in a cellular telecommunications networkincluding a plurality of Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) including aplurality of individually addressable Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs)each providing bidirectional signal coverage over a predefinedgeographical area, a method for operating a personal cellulartelecommunications device including a subscriber interface having adisplay screen, a method for advertising the purchase price of an item,the method comprising the step of: displaying a staggered sequence ofdisplay messages on the display screen advertising the item inprogressively smaller geographical areas centered around a predefinedlocation.
 53. The method according to claim 52 wherein the staggeredsequence of display messages advertise progressively lower purchaseprices for the item.
 54. The method according to either claim 52 or 53wherein the display messages are PTMP display messages.
 55. The methodaccording to either claim 52 or 53 wherein the display messages are PTPdisplay messages.